Legarda calls for global commitment for climate finance

Legarda, who heads the Philippine delegation to the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP25) in Madrid, Spain, made the bid during her bilateral meeting with last Dec. 6 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa. (File Photo: Senator Loren Legarda/Facebook)

MANILA – Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda has urged developed countries to fully commit in jointly mobilizing USD100 billion dollars a year in climate finance to help nations vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Legarda, who heads the Philippine delegation to the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP25) in Madrid, Spain, made the bid during her bilateral meeting with last Dec. 6 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa.

During the meeting, Legarda sought to identify pathways toward an increased global commitment to climate finance.

“How do we encourage developed countries to deliver and go beyond their commitments? Because even if we reach the USD100 billion target by 2020, it is still not enough to address the needs of all vulnerable countries,” Legarda said.

Espinosa cited a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stating that public and private climate finance from developed countries are on track in reaching the USD100 billion target.

UNFCCC Adaptation Director Youssef Nassef also noted that at the end of 2020, countries will negotiate on a higher commitment per year until 2025.

Espinosa highlighted that while the USD100-billion climate finance target is achievable, it cannot be easily accessible due to the complexities of the bureaucracy.

Legarda cited an example, wherein the Philippines was able to secure a grant of USD10 million for the establishment of multi-hazard impact-based forecasting and early warning system (MH-IBF-EWS), but there was a notable difficulty in accessing the grant.

Legarda stressed the need to simplify the process of accessing the Green Climate Fund (GCF), especially to make it accessible to the community level.

“For the GCF, the requirements are so stringent. It took us years to develop and secure approval for our country’s very first proposal. We need to simplify the process,” Legarda said.

“We also need to capacitate not just our institutions, but also our communities to further understand how to access the GCF. We need to see them positively affected by climate finance,” Legarda added.